Looney Tunes is an American animated franchise produced and distributed by Warner Bros. It began as a series of short films that originally ran from 1930 to 1969, along with its spin-off series Merrie Melodies, during the golden age of American animation. Following a revival in the late 1970s, new shorts were released as recently as 2014. The two series introduced a large cast of characters, including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Porky Pig. The term Looney Tunes has since been expanded to also refer to the characters themselves.
Bugs and Thugs is a 1954 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Friz Freleng. The short was released on March 13, 1954, and stars Bugs Bunny, with Rocky and Mugsy. The film is a semi-remake of the 1946 cartoon Racketeer Rabbit. It is also the first Warner Bros short to feature Milt Franklyn as a musical director.
Tortoise Beats Hare is a Merrie Melodies short film directed by Tex Avery and released on March 15, 1941. The short, loosely based on Aesop's fable The Tortoise and the Hare, stars Bugs Bunny and, in his first appearance, Cecil Turtle.
A Wild Hare is a 1940 American animated comedy short film directed by Tex Avery, produced by Leon Schlesinger, and distributed by Warner Bros. as part of the Merrie Melodies series. The film was released on July 27, 1940, and features Elmer Fudd and Bugs Bunny, the latter making what is considered his first official appearance.
Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt is a 1941 Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Friz Freleng. Mel Blanc voiced all characters. This film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Short Subject (cartoons), but lost to Walt Disney's Lend a Paw. This was the first Bugs Bunny cartoon directed by Friz Freleng. The short makes several direct references to The Song of Hiawatha, an epic poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
The Heckling Hare is a Merrie Melodies cartoon, released on July 5, 1941, and featuring Bugs Bunny and a dopey dog named Willoughby. The cartoon was directed by Tex Avery, written by Michael Maltese, animated by soon-to-be director Robert McKimson, and with musical direction by Carl W. Stalling. In a style that was becoming typical of the Bugs character, he easily outwitted and tormented his antagonist through the short, his only concern being what to do next to the dog.
Elmer's Candid Camera is a 1940 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon short directed by Chuck Jones. The short was released on March 2, 1940, and features Elmer Fudd and an early Bugs Bunny prototype.
Hare-um Scare-um is a 1939 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Ben Hardaway and Cal Dalton. The short was released on August 12, 1939, and is the third short to feature the rabbit that would evolve into Bugs Bunny.
What's Cookin' Doc? is a 1943-produced, 1944 Warner Bros. cartoon in the Merrie Melodies series, directed by Bob Clampett, and stars Bugs Bunny. The short was also written by Michael Sasanoff, and was animated by Robert McKimson, along with uncredited work by Rod Scribner, Phil Monroe and Virgil Ross. The film was released on January 8, 1944.
Haredevil Hare is a 1948 Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Chuck Jones. It stars Bugs Bunny and it is the debut for Marvin the Martian — although he is unnamed in this film—along with his Martian dog, K-9. Marvin's nasal voice for this first film is different from the later one he is most known for. This is also the last pre-August 1948 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoon whose distribution rights were sold to Associated Artists Productions.
Hare Ribbin' is a 1944 animated short film in the Merrie Melodies series, directed by Robert Clampett and featuring Bugs Bunny. The plot features Bugs' conflict with a red-haired hound dog, whom the rabbit sets out to evade and make a fool of using one-liners, reverse psychology, disguises and other tricks. It was released in theaters by Warner Bros. on June 24, 1944. The title is a pun on "hair ribbon".
From Hare to Heir is a 1960 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies theatrical cartoon short directed and written by Friz Freleng. The short was released on September 3, 1960, and stars Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam.
Rabbitson Crusoe is a 1956 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes short directed by Friz Freleng. The short was released on April 28, 1956, and stars Bugs Bunny.
The Foghorn Leghorn is a 1948 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Robert McKimson. The cartoon was released on October 9, 1948, and features Foghorn Leghorn, Henery Hawk and the Barnyard Dawg.
Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 3 is a DVD box set from Warner Home Video that was released on October 25, 2005. It contains 60 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies theatrical short subject cartoons, nine documentaries, 32 commentary tracks from animators and historians, 11 "vintage treasures from the vault", and 11 music-only or music-and-sound-effects audio tracks.
Stars of Space Jam is a collection of Looney Tunes VHS tapes released in 1996 to promote the release of Space Jam. A Japanese LaserDisc of this set was released around the same time. Each tape/side featured six cartoons, most of which had not been made available on home video before. This was also notably the first video series with a video featuring all the cartoons of the Tasmanian Devil. The series was discontinued around the time the Looney Tunes Presents video series came out.
Tex Avery Screwball Classics is a series of single-disc Blu-ray and DVD sets by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment's Warner Archive unit collecting various theatrical cartoons from animation director Tex Avery during his tenure at the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio's cartoon division between the years of 1942 and 1955. It is the first comprehensive collection of Avery's MGM shorts to be released on home media in North America since The Compleat Tex Avery series of laserdiscs in the 1990s, with many of the shorts having been previously unreleased on DVD or Blu-ray.
Looney Tunes: Bugs Bunny 80th Anniversary Collection is a Blu-ray Disc box-set released by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on December 1, 2020. It contains 60 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts starring Bugs Bunny and numerous bonus features and supplementary content. The set's packaging includes a slip book, a booklet, and a collectible Bugs Bunny Funko! POP doll.
Looney Tunes Collector's Choice is a series of Blu-ray discs from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment's Warner Archive division collecting various Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies theatrical animated short subjects from Warner Bros. Cartoons. According to Jerry Beck, the aim of this series is to release Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts that have been previously unavailable in remastered form to animation fans and collectors on the various DVD and Blu-ray sets, such as the Looney Tunes Golden Collection, Looney Tunes Platinum Collection, Looney Tunes Super Stars, and Bugs Bunny 80th Anniversary Collection sets. Roughly 400 shorts had yet to be released in said DVD or Blu-ray format before the release of this series, but the series also includes shorts that were previously released as bonus features on DVDs.
